


Smoke in City Skies

by yoitshayley



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Drug Use, Fluff and Angst, Louis Smokes, M/M, Zayn Smokes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-12
Updated: 2016-04-17
Packaged: 2018-06-01 18:50:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6531826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yoitshayley/pseuds/yoitshayley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You know that kills, right?”<br/>The voice came out of nowhere. Louis jerked his head forwards, dropping the lit object to the ground, leaving it to inevitably flicker out. He turned angrily towards whoever had caused the disruption, but softened when he met eyes with the sight before him.<br/>A skinny boy, definitely no older than eighteen, was stood right in his personal space, thin hands placed on his slender hips. A cascade of long curls surrounded his pale face, accenting every feature, every trait. The most astonishing part was that he stood nearly half a foot above him. Louis almost lost himself in the beauty of this teen, before remembering why he was standing there in front of him.<br/>So he scowled, glaring at the obviously younger one. “And what if that’s the goal?”</p><p>OR the one where Louis is on his fourth year of Pre Law at MU, and hates it to say the least. His life is seemingly going in a downwards spiral until he meets a curly headed stranger leant against the side of a bar one crisp autumn night.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first posted fic, hope you all enjoy.
> 
> (Yes, I know I'm still slightly awful at this, but I'm trying)

It was one of those nights that most people decide to spend with friends. One of those nights in late fall where the air is just crisp enough, just still enough, to give everyone that wonderful rush of empowerment. Most people would be seen inside pubs or bars, and not leant against the exterior of one.  
Strangely, Louis was not one of those people.  
Thick swirls of smoke twisted and twirled among each other, stretching across the black sea of a sky like waves of some sort. Louis twirled the stub of a cigarette between his thumb and forefinger, pondering for a moment. His eyes gazed over the dim streetlights, and how they flickered whenever a particularly strong gust of wind blew past them. He sighed, leaning his head back against the rough, brick outside of the bar, taking another long draw, before blowing the gray mist out slowly.  
“You know that kills, right?”  
The voice came out of nowhere. Louis jerked his head forwards, dropping the lit object to the ground, leaving it to inevitably flicker out. He turned angrily towards whoever had caused the disruption, but softened when he met eyes with the sight before him.  
A skinny boy, definitely no older than eighteen, was stood right in his personal space, thin hands placed on his slender hips. A cascade of long curls surrounded his pale face, accenting every feature, every trait. The most astonishing part was that he stood nearly half a foot above him. Louis almost lost himself in the beauty of this teen, before remembering why he was standing there in front of him.  
So he scowled, glaring at the obviously younger one. “And what if that’s the goal?”  
Silence settled in the awkward atmosphere, and a taxi sped by them, surprising the pair.  
A few moments later, the taller boy snorted, and shot back, “I’m trying to decide if you’re depressed, or just extremely full of yourself.”  
Louis fumed, pulling the cardboard box of smokes out of the pocket of his hoodie, along with a bright red lighter. Shaking one out hastily, he shoved it in his mouth, flicking on the lighter, cupping his hand ever so slightly to block the wind.  
“Are you seriously not even listening to me?”  
Louis looked up once again, to see the boy also leant against the side of the bar, a few feet away with his arms crossed over his chest.  
“Why don’t you just leave me alone?”  
“Why don’t you just cut that out?”  
Again, silence settled over the two. A few more cars sped by this time, drawing out the minutes. Louis sighed again, staring the younger dead in the face.  
“Don’t mess with things you don’t understand, alright?” He huffed, turning away once again to absorb the suffocating, yet addicting fumes. To him, this kid definitely had no idea what he was getting into.  
“I think I understand just fine.” The lanky replied, lifting his defined chin confidently, as if he was telling Louis off. Even in his state of absolute anger, Louis still had to stifle a laugh.  
And the younger just ignored him. “Seriously. My mom smokes a ton, literally like more than a box a day. And the worst part is, she knows she’s suffering, but she can’t stop. And won’t. I’ve tried to convince her, believe me. But it’s too late.”  
Louis stared, gaping, at this teen, who had seemingly just opened up to him.  
“Why are you telling me this?” He whispered.  
The boy shrugged nonchalantly, looking at Louis with wide, doe eyes. “Doesn’t really matter, I guess. I’m here at uni now, right? Feels kind of nice to get away from her. God that sounds awful, but you know what I mean.”  
“Yeah… I’m sorry.”  
“It’s fine, really. I’m Harry by the way.”  
“Louis.”  
“Nice to meet you, Louis.”  
“And you as well, Harold.”  
“It’s Harry.”  
“Oh, right. Yeah.” Louis replied softly. Why was he still here? Talking? This stranger had just opened up to him about something that was obviously important. Was that normal?  
And yet again, quiet settled between the two, and Harry sighed, leaning his head back against the wall. After a moment, his nose crinkled upwards, and he looked back over at Louis, who, once again, was huffing away at the long, gray cylinder.  
“I wasn’t kidding about before. You should seriously stop before well, you know.”  
“Yeah. Right.” Louis said, rolling his eyes subtly in sarcasm.  
“Don’t act like it’s some crazy idea.” Harry said quietly. He seemed slightly hurt.  
“But it is.”  
Harry looked over at him, face contorted in a scowl once again. And with that, he turned away, and began walking down the mostly abandoned street.  
Five seconds passed. Harry continued motion. Louis did not.  
Ten seconds.  
Fifteen seconds…  
“Hey, wait!”  
Louis was lightly jogging towards him, pulling his grey hoodie tighter around his thin shoulders. “Let me buy you a drink.”  
Harry laughed, looking up at Louis with those emerald eyes of green.  
“I’m only eighteen.”  
“Like I said, let me buy you a drink.”  
“Well if you insist. But put that thing out first.” Harry said nodding towards his cigarette.  
And who was Louis to refuse?  
The odd pair began ambling over to the old brick pub, watching as different civilians trickled in and out, some with groups, some alone.  
And Louis cigarette lay in the dust, slowly flickering out into a black scorn of ashes.  
…  
“You can’t be serious.” Louis scoffed, looking at Harry miraculously with his eyebrows raised to their extent.  
“What?” Harry said, batting his delicate eyelashes innocently. About an hour had passed, mostly consisting of Louis letting Harry take small sips from his beer, before the young boy asked to order a drink of his own.  
“I cannot believe you just bought that.” Louis said, a genuine smile playing on his lips as they watched the middle aged bartender pour a red drink with hints of purple into a glass.  
“I think I’ll like it.” Harry said matter-of-factly. Louis shook his head, laughing to himself, as the bartender placed a “Spiced Cranberry Rum Fizz” In front of Harry. It looked proper fancy, with a sliced lemon on the rim and everything. The boys hand tentatively shot out, grasping the base of the glass, before lifting the dew encrusted item to his red tinted lips. He swallowed, a quick gulp, and immediately, the sides of his mouth shot up.  
“Good?” Louis asked.  
“Good.” Harry replied, taking another sip. And then another.  
More glasses passed between the two, filling, then emptying, and then inevitably repeating. After they’d had enough that their words slurred together, and they occasionally leaned against each other for support, the conversation started up.  
“So what’s your story?” Louis asked, loud enough to be heard over the consistent chatter in the rest of the bar.  
Harry shrugged, offering Louis a goofy smile. “Not too interesting, really. I just started classes at MU, I’m majoring in music, minoring in English Lit. Like I said, not that important.”  
Louis jumped. “I’m at MU as well.”  
“Wow, small world, eh? What’re you studying in?”  
“I’ve been in Pre-Law for about three years, just starting my fourth.”  
“Amazing.” Harry smiled. “That must make you pretty smart.”  
“Not really. I’m just barely keeping up with my classes.”  
“I bet you’re doing just fine.” Harry sighed, leaning his head against Louis shoulder. He was obviously exhausted, having a general amount of alcohol at his age was enough to tucker anyone out. So Louis allowed this, it was just a nice gesture.  
It was when Harry nuzzled his nose into Louis’ neck that he got concerned.  
“Harry?” Louis tilted his head ever so slightly, trying not to disturb the younger one. “Harry, you alright?”  
Harry let out a muffled noise, and just pushed himself closer to Louis. He was obviously exhausted, Louis decided. And he definitely couldn’t go home alone, no, Louis wouldn’t allow that. So the next events were expected.  
“Do you want me to take you home?” He asked tentatively, leaning down so he spoke directly into the muss of brown curls above Harry’s delicate ears.  
Harry nodded slightly, shifting his body so he was relying completely on Louis to support him. Together they stood, Louis holding Harry up using a careful arm around his waist.  
Louis tried to remember when his body hadn’t had time to build up a tolerance to alcohol. It must have been awful, so he took pity on Harry.  
Once they were outside, Louis suddenly remembered, he didn’t have a car. He stayed in the dorms only a couple of blocks away, and was planning to walk right back after a quick smoke. Obviously, that wasn’t really an option now. He wondered where Harry was staying, probably another block of dorms far away from the first scene.  
“Do you want to just stay the night at mine?”  
Harry nodded quickly, his head hanging limply between his shoulders. And with that, they began to walk, Louis holding Harry steady, and Harry using his arm around Louis neck to keep balance. They kept each other going, all the way back to Louis room.  
…  
“It’s not much.” Louis said quickly when they finally managed to stumble up the dorm stairs, only receiving a couple of sympathetic looks from passing students. “But I make do.”  
The room only consisted of two single beds, a slightly worn couch, a messy desk, and a blue icebox covered from base to top with an assortment of bumper stickers. There was a door seated to the left of the bed, which most likely led to a bathroom.  
Harry sighed as Louis laid him down on the bed, snuggling into the pillow and almost immediately falling asleep. The room was still dark, since Louis hadn’t bothered to turn on the lights. So instead of doing anything productive, he decided to lay on the couch, not wanting Zayn to come back and find both beds occupied, and slowly drift off to sleep.  
…  
Louis woke to the sound of someone hastily tying their shoes, and looked up only to see just that. Harry was pulling on his pair of boots, lacing them up only halfway. He hadn’t noticed that Louis had woken up, so he nearly jumped out of his skin when he the older grunted.  
“Planning on leaving before I woke up?” He smirked, eyeing the startled boy.  
“Oh, um, I was going to wake you.” Harry said quietly, blushing and obviously meaning not to meet Louis’ eyes.  
“Right.” Louis pushed himself off the couch, ambling over to the desk to grab one of the messily thrown about ink pens. “How about I give you my number? You know, just in case.”  
“Yeah, just in case.” Harry said, eyes lighting up. He graciously accepted the slip of paper Louis handed him, and tucked it swiftly in the back of his back pocket.  
“How far away do you live? Do you need me to walk you?”  
“It’s um, not that far, really.” Harry lied through his teeth, trying not to think about the near half mile lonely journey he’d have to endure. But he definitely didn’t want to bother Louis anymore than he already had.  
“I’ll walk you anyways. You never really know what’d be out there.” Louis offered kindly. For some strange reason, he felt a sort of attraction to this boy, a need to protect him. Maybe it was the way that he held himself, so timid and sweet. Or maybe it was just his amazingly intriguing personality. Either way, Louis was smitten.  
“That’s really not necessary…” Harry attempted to shake his head. He knew it was cold out, and he really just wanted to be polite. But Louis persisted.  
“Of course it is. Now come on, what time is your first class?”  
“Not until eleven.”  
“Then we have some time. Want to stop for coffee first, maybe? I know a great place nearby.”  
“Um, yeah, alright. I didn’t bring my wallet though.”  
“Not a problem.”  
“Are you sure? I seriously don’t want to put you through any more trouble than I already have.” Harry asked, looking down at his feet.  
“What? You haven’t caused me any trouble at all. To be honest that was probably the most exciting night I’ve had in three years.”  
Harry laughed at that.  
“Really, just let me buy you a coffee. You seem like one of the kids who’d get a fancy holiday drink or something.”  
“Am not.”  
“Right.”  
“Well okay then, Louis, let’s go. Just so I can prove to you that I’m not some kid who gets these so called ‘fancy holiday drinks’.”  
“Just let me grab my coat.”  
...  
The walk towards a nearby cafe was nearly silent, the only noises being shoes against pavement and the swift rustle of wind in hair. A storm was brewing, it was quite obvious judging by the dense gray clouds covering the small towns sky, blocking out nearly all the sunlight.  
“Nice day.” Louis muttered sarcastically, and Harry snorted, crunching a fallen leaf with his boot. Neither of them spoke too much, as they had only met just the night before. Drunk, they’d been nearly best friends, but sober, quite a different story.  
“Where are we even going?” Harry asked, finally looking up from where his eyes trailed on the frosty ground.  
“Oh, just to this local cafe I’ve been to. It’s pretty nice.”  
“You sure that some local cafe will have these fancy holiday drinks?”  
“Trust me, they do.”  
The duo continued to walk, passing other dorm blocks, class buildings, and even the bar they’d met at the night before.  
“It’s just around the corner…” Louis trailed off, quickening his step as the turned abruptly, and the pair were almost immediately standing in front of an old looking brick coffeeshop, with large glass windows and a couple of rusty metal benches positioned by the doors. To be honest, it looked very welcoming, with it’s homelike composure. “Here we are.”  
Once inside the cafe, Harry took in a breath. The small atmosphere screamed warm, kind, and cozy. Brightly colored couches were set on the sides, with complimentary coffee tables in front of them. A single order station was directly across from the door right in front of a barista station, and was lined strategically with large amounts of organic coffee beans, accenting the glass case of delicious looking pastries. A young girl was manning the cash register, and she was already smiling brightly at Harry.  
“Hi, how can I help you?” She said sweetly as they approached. “Our specials today are our caramel and brown sugar latte, and the classic campfire mocha.”  
“I’ll just have a coffee, large please.” Louis said comfortably, before turning to Harry.  
“Oh um, I’ll…” He stuttered, and suddenly felt quite exposed in this environment. “The um, caramel one, please.”  
“That’ll be right out.” She said sweetly, tacking away at her register for a moment, and accepting the ten dollar bill Louis handed over to her. Then, without another word, she passed the change back to Louis and began rushing around the brewing area, first passing Louis his coffee, and then taking her sweet time on Harry’s drink.  
“Told you so.” Louis whispered to Harry when she eventually gave him his drink, topped with frilly whipped cream and caramel sauce.  
It took Harry a moment to realize what he was talking about, but then he laughed, genuinely, and drank a small sip of the creamy goodness.  
“Want to sit down?” The older asked, gesturing towards an empty couch.  
“Actually, better be going.” Harry said whilst checking his small wristwatch. Sure, it was only about nine o’clock, but that seemed late enough. “Don’t want to be late for class.”  
“It’s only nine.”  
“It’s a long walk.”  
“Then we should start walking.”  
“Seriously, you don’t have to take me everywhere. I’m fine on my own.” Harry huffed, suddenly becoming slightly annoyed with Louis clinginess.  
“I just don’t want you going off by yourself.”  
“Who’s to say I can’t handle things myself?”  
“That’s not what I meant.”  
“Then what did you mean?”  
Silence hung in the dead air, waiting like an overdue bill.  
Harry sighed, clutching his drink a bit tighter. “Listen, this has been nice, you getting me a drink and letting me stay over. Thank you, really. I’m just not that fond of people seeing me as some weakling.”  
Louis gazed at Harry’s delicate features. Sharp cheekbones, light complexion, large, doe like emerald eyes. No, he definitely wasn’t weak, despite his graceful composure. That wasn’t the word. He wanted to tell, him, dearly, no he wasn’t weak. But by the time he had left his trance, Harry was turning away, right out of the coffeeshop.  
He stood, dumbfounded, still in the doorway, before he heard a voice. High, and sweet. The girl at the counter.  
“Go.”  
Without another thought, he raced out into the cold autumns air, not pausing for breath as he began to scour the streets for any sign or trace of the younger boy. Determination filled his heart, and he was desperate to tell Harry about how, how strong he was.  
After a couple minutes, though, he realized he really had no idea where the boys next class was, or where any of his classes were for that matter. The fire in his gut slowly began to die, and his quick step slowed to just a mild meander. It was no use. He was better off just going back to his dorm room. Zayn was sure to have hooked up with some dealer the night before, he remembered the new stench that had strangely appeared that morning.  
…  
Oh, how Louis had wished that he’d asked for Harry to give him his number, instead of vice versa. Now all he was left with were wandering images of the beautiful teen, and an utter obsession with checking his phone to see if an unknown number would pop up with some text.  
None did, though, and Louis had no choice but to continue attending his classes, just barely making passing grades on homework assignments and tests. He’d never been that great in school, and this new distraction on his mind was definitely not helping. Secretly, he was praying that he would somehow run into Harry on campus, maybe bump into him in the street. Or even just see him again. Those green, green eyes…  
You could probably say Louis was obsessed.  
Now, before you go off calling him some stalker, consider his circumstances. Louis was never the real social butterfly, constantly avoiding unnecessary small talk and instead sneaking off on his own, finding more solitary activities and habits to attend to, hence the smoking. But when Harry had approached him that night, with such certainty and confidence, it made Louis shiver with excitement. He wasn’t used to having friends. Harry really was as close as he’d ever gotten to one in the past decade. And if that didn’t mean anything, Louis didn’t know what would.  
So for weeks he waited. Well, to be more precise it was about ten days, but to Louis it felt like an eternity. Thoughts ran through his head on a constant, what if? What if he never saw Harry again? What if he did manage to find him, but then the younger would want nothing to do with him?  
These thoughts were a real problem for Louis. In almost every single class, some teacher would snap their fingers or clap their hands by his head to wake him from his thoughtful trance, and multiple times he’d been kicked out of lectures for being off task.  
“What’s going on with you?” Zayn asked one day. Louis had just returned early from one of his least favorite classes, after once again being excused. His frustrated mind must have shown through his appearance, because Zayn seemed genuinely worried. So he spilled.  
“That guy. The one from like, a week ago? I dunno if you remember, he was asleep when you came in.”  
“Oh, right. The curly headed one, yeah? You don’t bring people back often Lou, so when you do it’s not too hard to forget. I kinda figured that ya hooked up with him. For drugs?”  
“Wait, what? No. Harry’s just a friend.” Louis said, eyes growing wide. He wasn’t the type for one night stands.  
“Oh.” Zayn said, pondering. “Well what happened?”  
“I fucked up. Guess I got kinda clingy or something. I think he… hates me now.”  
“Aw, come on, Lou! Who could hate you? I bet he just like, lost his phone or something.”  
“Maybe. Wait, I didn’t tell you I gave him my phone number, did I?”  
Zayn looked confused for a moment, before his amber eyes lit up with amusement. “Right! By the way I was awake when you guys left. For coffee?”  
“Jesus, Zayn! Eavesdropping isn’t polite.”  
“Oh well. So you fucked up with this guy, eh? Nothing that can’t be fixed. Speaking of fixes, ya need one?”  
The following days felt like a lifetime for Louis, who was constantly ranting to Zayn, while also getting completely bashed.  
But then, a fateful day came. Louis was casually walking towards his next class, strolling aimlessly and taking the long way, as he had at least twenty minutes to kill. A dark grey hoodie hung from his shoulders, and an some old band tee shirt was accenting it, something he’d had from his high school years. The thing is, if he knew who he was going to run into, he might have dressed a bit more nicely.  
Louis was staring down at the ground, watching the pavement underneath him drift by instead of the path in front of him. Sure that sounded an awful lot like a metaphor, but Louis didn’t care. He was in his own little bubble. At least until he crashed head first into someone.  
“I’m so sorry!” He heard a soft, deep voice cry out as papers flew around the two. He looked up only to see a muss of curls scrambling around to pick up papers. “I was running late and wasn’t looking where I was going and I just…”  
“Harry.”  
The boy looked up. Yep, there were those green, green eyes.  
“Louis.” Harry said quietly, not bothering to grab the rest of his papers. “What are you doing here?”  
“Last time I checked, this is a campus, not your home.”  
Harry blushed, the light shade of pink creeping up his cheeks. “Well I better be going now. Can’t be late.”  
“Wait.” Louis called out as Harry attempted to walk off casually. “Call me when you get the chance?”  
Harry pondered this for a moment, before giving a curt nod and rushing off. Louis let out a puff of air, sitting back down on the cold, hard sidewalk. Sure, his head hurt, but he’d just seen Harry. That was enough to make any guy happy.  
What he really needed right then was a smoke. He pulled out the deck sized box of Marlboro lights, taking one out carefully and sliding them back into his hoodie pocket, while simultaneously grabbing his lighter.  
There he sat, like some bum, on the side of the road, puffing away at the thin cylinder, surrounded by Harry’s classwork and extra looseleaf papers.  
Suddenly, he felt bad. Like really bad. Like he was betraying someone. So he quickly threw the smoke away in disgust, using his sneaker to dab it out quickly.  
Harry would’ve been proud.  
…  
That was almost two days ago, and Louis was still waiting impatiently, constantly checking his mobile device. Classes continued, as usual, while Louis only attended the average of half of them. And finally, after the long wait, Louis phone began to sound.  
“Hello?” Louis said hurriedly, picking up on the second ring.  
“Wow. That was fast.” Harry spoke in a monotone, Obviously not looking forward to the call.  
“Harry.” Louis sighed, leaning against the door he was just about to walk out of. “Thank you… for calling.”  
“Yeah. Was there a reason you wanted me to call? I have to run to my next class.”  
“Oh um yeah, I just wanted to say sorry. About a couple weeks ago. I didn’t mean for you to think-“  
“It’s fine.”  
“No it’s not. It’s really not. You’re not weak. You are so, so strong, and I shouldn’t have said those things. The way you approached me that night, you were so confident. It surprised me to be honest. How you demanded for me to drop my cigarette,” Louis paused to give a short laugh, “Was amazing. Truly incredible. And you just looked so… So perfect.”  
The phone line went quiet. Seconds passed, and Louis worried that he’d said the wrong thing, and then:  
“Thank you.” Harry whispered quietly. “Um, people don’t tell me that often.”  
“That’s a surprise.” Louis said truthfully, a hint of slyness in his voice.  
“Oh, smooth.” Harry giggled, though it was muffled by the electronics slight static. “Hey, um, do you maybe want to go get coffee again? I can’t get the taste of that caramel drink out of my mind.”  
“Sure, Harry, I’d be happy to pay for your frilly drink pleasures.”  
Harry giggled again. “Oh hush, who said you were paying?”  
Louis was caught off guard. “I can’t let you-“  
“Yes you can. Anyways, I need to return the favor. So see you tomorrow at ten?”  
“Yeah, yeah, of course.” It didn’t matter that Louis had a lecture at ten the next morning. That wasn’t as important. “See you then.”  
The phone clicked off in an instant, and Louis let out a long held breath, sinking down against the doorframe, luckily still inside his dorm.  
Finally things were working out.


	2. Chapter 2

“Generally, if you want to achieve anything in the world of musicology, you’re going to have to earn a Ph. D. That is, if you are truly serious about your career.”  
Once again, Harry’s professor was droning on about the importance of studying and keeping up with classes, specifically his class. Honestly, Harry couldn’t really care less about this whole musical history thing, all he wanted to do was do what he wanted, record his music and publish his creations. All of this scholarly crap didn’t seem to apply to him. But he wanted to at least be slightly educated in the entirety of music, so there he was.  
“Mister Styles, is something outside of that window more important than my speech containing information of a much higher level of music than you will ever achieve?”  
Harry’s head snapped back towards his teacher, and he realized that he must have been gazing off into the distance in his train of thought. And now he had to kiss up to get out of it.  
“Oh, um, no sir. Sorry, it won’t happen again.” Harry gulped, staring up at his teacher with the most innocent and adorable smile he could pull. His teacher scowled, glaring at him through his rimless glasses, and then he paced away.  
Harry let out a breath of relief. He just needed to get though this class, and then he could go hang out with Louis. He smiled at the thought, mind lighting up with excitement at the though of meeting up with the blue eyed boy. Seeing his face, his generally long, caramel hair. Sure, Louis had been a bit rude to him since their first encounter, but all could be forgiven, right? Besides, who could stay mad at such a handsome guy?  
Harry shook his head, waking him from the trance. He needed to pay attention, he couldn’t get a detention now.  
“Now, back to the idea of differentiated musical cultures…”  
…  
It was extremely cold when Harry finally stepped out of the lecture hall, and he bit his lip as a freezing breeze dried out his watering eyes. Checking his watch, he saw it was already a quarter to ten. He’d have to be very quick to make it on time, as he remembered the cafe being quite far.  
His long coat fluttered in the harsh wind as he took careful yet sturdy steps on the frosty pavement. A thick layer of clouds remained in the sky, and he sighed. It definitely looked like another storm was brewing, despite the already slick pavement, and of course that was the day he’d forgotten his umbrella. And that meant that after this quick coffee meet up, he’d have to arrive at the rest of his classes completely soaked. He sighed, lowering his head and then walking a bit faster.   
Harry was so focused on the gray of the pavement, that he didn’t even realize someone else was walking in the opposite direction, who was obviously more intrigued in the papers he was carrying rather than the space in front of him.  
You can probably already guess that the two collided head on.  
Papers and textbooks flew everywhere, and Harry’s materials spilled out of his small rucksack when he fell back, landing hard on his backside.  
“Goodness, I’m so sorry!” Harry cried as he scrambled to his feet, desperately trying to gather the other persons papers and pass them back to him, but a gentle hand stopped him.  
Kind eyes met Harry’s tense ones, and he immediately softened.  
“Oh, hi Mr. Peterson.” Harry sighed, leaning back. He’d thought the man was a stranger. Or worse- one of his strict professors.  
“To you as well, Harry. What’s got you in such a rush?”  
“Meeting a, er, friend at ten.”  
“Well I hope this so called friend isn’t too important.” Mr. Peterson said, pulling out his phone and clicking it on. “It’s already five after.”  
“Oh! I’ve got to go.” Harry said, straightening up quickly, giving the young teacher an apologetic look. “Sorry I bumped into you, completely my fault.”  
“It’s not a problem.” The older replied, collecting the last of his papers and giving Harry an oddly suggestive wink. “Now hurry off to this friend of yours. I know that I wouldn’t like to be kept waiting!”  
With a curt nod, Harry ran past the man, slinging the open backpack back over his slender shoulders. He truly hoped Louis wouldn’t be angry at his tardiness, but images of his teacher still lingered in his mind. Mr. Peterson was by far his favorite musical instructor, as he taught vocals, and was generally a fun loving type of guy. So far, Harry had been getting excellent grades in his class, and he and Mr. Peterson were quite good friends. Not to mention, the older was quite attractive, face lined with small stubble, and creamy, warm amber eyes. Though Harry would never, ever admit he’d thought that, not to mention was extremely elated that he’d run into him instead of some other person.  
Soon enough, Harry was standing in front of the small coffeeshop, and he rushed inside, pushing past the heavy doors.  
“Harry!” A voice called out from the left, and he turned to see Louis sat on one of the bright blue couches, back sunk into the droopy material.  
The younger stalked over to him, sitting down carefully, even though his body was still nearly half engulfed in the plush material. He gave Louis a smile, and turned to look at the coffee table in front of them. Two medium sized were placed directly next to each other, one entitled as ‘Louis T’ and the other ‘Cutie’.  
Harry blushed furiously, looking away. “I thought I was paying.” He whispered under his breath. Louis only smirked.  
“Like I said, I couldn’t let you do that.” He closed his eyes haughtily, reaching out for his drink and taking a small sip.  
After a few silent moments, Louis spoke again. “Aren’t you going to drink your coffee?”  
Harry was still sulking, refusing to even look at the older boy. He had wanted to pay. He had actually not bought coffee from the cafeteria for the past few days so he’d be able to afford it without difficulty. And, on top of that, Louis had the audacity to write that comment on his cup.  
He huffed, arm darting out to snag the drink, and bringing it to his still nearly frozen lips and swallowing a mouthful of the cream.  
And of course, his taste buds lit up to the drinks amazing aura. How could they not?  
Louis definitely noticed Harry’s immediate mood change, and the atmosphere around them changed completely, all clouds clearing away when Harry smiled.  
“So, what class do you have next?” Louis asked casually, crossing one leg over the other so he was turned slightly towards the younger boy, trying to act like he totally wasn’t trying to memorize his schedule.  
“Eh, just English Lit. I’m minoring in Literature.” Harry replied, setting his drink down and facing Louis. “What about you? So far it hasn’t seemed like you’ve had too much going on.”  
“My Civil Procedure lecture starts at eleven fifteen, and I have Criminal Law at one. I haven’t been going to classes for the past few days ‘cause I called in sick.”  
“You didn’t sound sick on the phone.”  
“That’s because I wasn’t.”  
“Oh.” Harry said quietly, looking down at his lap. Gosh, He thought, People skipped class and got away with it? “What if you got caught?”  
“I won’t.”  
“Right.”  
“Seriously, I won’t. If you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly the most popular kid on campus, hardly any of the teachers really notice that I exist, let alone come to class.”  
Louis reached out once again to pick up his coffee, tipping it back slightly to take another sip, but pausing and looking back over at Harry. “You’ve never skipped a class?”  
“Well, um, no I…”  
“Oh my god.” Louis laughed, coffee spilling out of his cup when his body shook with amusement. “You’re kidding, right?”  
Harry glared at him, crossing his arms and turning away. “Some of us like to keep a good attendance.” Louis only laughed harder.  
It took him a moment to realize that Harry was truly upset about the topic, and almost immediately his chuckles ceased.  
“Hey, that’s fine. It’s um, good to keep a perfect attendance, I guess.”  
Harry still remained quiet, turned slightly away from the older.  
“How about you and I skip your next class?” Louis suggested suddenly, placing a feeble hand on Harry’s mid back.  
Harry whipped his head around, looking him dead in the eye. “What if we get caught?”  
“Trust me, we won’t. I’ll just email my teacher that I’m still sick, and we just have to come up with some excuse for you.”  
“Alright, I guess.” Harry said hesitantly. “I could say that I had a family issue. Would that work?” He wasn’t sure, since he’d never been in a situation like this.  
“Perfect. Just email your teacher and I’ll do the same.” Louis said, a genuine smile playing on his lips as he pulled out his small handheld phone and began to tap away quickly.  
Harry did the same, suddenly becoming a bit more comfortable with this whole thing. He emailed his last three teachers for the day, explaining that a distant relative had just passed away and he would be driving over to join his family for the day. It seemingly worked, and he’d just have to stay out of the eyes of any faculty members for the rest of the day.  
“Done.” Louis said, setting his phone down and looking back over at Harry. “So, Harold, what do you want to do? You should decide, considering it’s your first time skipping.”  
“I, uh, I don’t know.” Harry said sheepishly. What kind of things did people do when they didn’t have class? These were the kinds of things Harry’d know if he had more friends. “Well, my roommates will be out, at you know, classes, until around four. We could go back to my suite?”  
“Only the second date and you’re already inviting me to your house.” Louis said sarcastically. Harry turned away, his face only growing redder. “Oh, don’t be mad, doll. That sounds perfect. How far is it?”  
“About a thirty minute walk, more or less.” Harry said, standing up. “If we go now, we can make it five minutes before midday classes let out.”  
“Perfect.” Louis smiled, rising to his feet so he could stand next to Harry. “Let’s go.”  
The pair made their way over to the doors, Louis holding one open for the younger, and turning to hear the barista shout his way. “Have a nice day!”  
“You as well!” He called back to her. He recognized her as the same person manning the register from when he’d first taken Harry there.  
The air was just as bitingly chilly as when Harry had left his last lecture, so he instinctively moved closer to Louis, to conserve body heat. Of course that was the only reason. Louis reacted quickly to the sudden movement, wrapping his arm around Harry’s thin waist, pulling him even closer. Harry tensed. It’d been a long while since someone had used those sorts of gestures on him, let alone it being someone his age. But he tried to relax. He tried to let it be natural. Inhale, and exhale. Quick and easy, everything would be alright.  
“Which way to your dorm, babe?” Louis asked, still not removing his loose hand from around Harry’s slim waist.  
“Did you actually just… Never mind. Next right, down the road, two blocks to the left, three blocks straight.”  
“Speaking of straight-”  
“Shut up.” Harry cut Louis off, attempting to end the conversation. He really tried to avoid encounters like that, ones where he’d have to explain himself.  
“I just want to know… Really.” Louis smiled genuinely up at him, clutching the small boy only closer.  
“You’re freaking caressing my waist, and I haven’t moved away yet, have I? So keep it in your pants.” Harry said, narrowing his eyebrows rudely at Louis.  
“Geez, no need to be so sassy.” And then, “I’ll drop it.”  
“Good.”  
The pair continued onwards, Louis only edging closer and closer to Harry, making sure the taller wasn’t uncomfortable, or seemingly so.  
“My roommates may or may not be there, we’re not all that close. Except for me and Niall. But they’re cool.”  
“Oh? What’re their names?”  
“Well, like I said, Niall. And Liam, but he’s always out studying or something.”  
“Cool. You live in a suite?”  
“Yeah, it’s pretty nice. Applied for one last summer and was one of the lucky ones.”  
Silence settled in the air, and they continued walking, following the directions Harry had just given. Soon they were entering a rather large building, one that still slightly resembled Louis dorm. Harry nodded kindly to a few people meandering around, even giving smiles to a few. Louis only tightened his grip.  
“Here we are.” Harry said, after they had climbed four flights of stairs, Louis still refusing to remove his arm. “Could you um-” Harry gestured at his arm. He needed to open the door.  
“Oh, right.” Louis said, hand dropping to his side awkwardly as Harry pulled out his key and inserted it swiftly into the lock. Moments later, after some twisting, it popped open.  
“My rooms down the hall, to the left. Niall’s is across from mine, and Liam’s at the end. Bathroom is beside the kitchen, and, well, yeah.”  
The suite was rather spacious, consisting of a nicely done lounge area with two couches and a wooden coffee table, and a kitchenette to the side. Louis almost felt embarrassed from showing Harry his living conditions, in the state that they’d been in.  
Harry rushed forwards, dropping down onto one of the couches and glancing at Louis. The older opted to join him, and sat back, making himself at home.  
“Want anything to eat?” Harry asked, as if on command. He hadn’t seemed to relax one bit, even if this was his home.  
“I’m alright.”  
“To drink?”  
“It’s alright, love, don’t bother yourself.”  
“Okay.” Harry said quietly.  
After a few more minutes of the tense air, Louis broke in. “How come your so timid, love?”  
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be weird, I just…”  
“Hush. Who said you were being weird? It’s fine. Just tell me what’s going on.”  
Harry laughed, but it sounded forced. “I don’t usually have people over. Especially not other guys.”  
“Could’ve fooled me, with all those friendly looks you were passing people in the halls.”  
“That doesn’t count. I was just being nice.”  
Louis snorted, and Harry turned to him, a slight look of hurt in his eyes.  
“No, no, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just you take a lot of things like they’re just being nice.”  
“Oh says you.” Harry said, rolling his eyes. “How many friends do you have again?”  
“Hey now, it’s not quantity. It’s quality. Now come on, we have to do something fun on your day off. Anything in mind?”  
“Not really. Wait, maybe we could go to the park? The weathers quite relaxing. Unless it storms. The sky looked pretty dense…”  
“Harry. Something exciting.”  
“Oh.”  
“You know what? I have just the thing. Grab your phone, and your wallet. And get ready for one hell of a time.”

“You sound stupid.”  
“Shut up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one was a little short. Also sorry I haven't updated, I was sick for a few days. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Another will up soon. Love you guys <3


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